Method and apparatus for making falling snow

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus to create falling snow for use at ski resorts, theme parks and test and training facilities for use with drones, motor vehicles, autonomous vehicles and aircraft components.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a method and an apparatus for creating fallingsnow for use at ski resorts, theme parks and test and trainingfacilities for use with drones, motor vehicles, autonomous vehicles andaircraft components.

The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for makingfalling snow with various densities of snow fall that can be produced atany temperature and can operate automatically to cover a large area.

Throughout the specification the term ‘snow’ shall include artificialsnow, or manmade snow, consisting of frozen water and havingcharacteristics to, if not identical to natural snow.

There have been many apparatuses for the manufacture of falling snow foruse on ski slopes or entertainment precincts and some examples of theinventors own earlier proposals can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos.7,484,373; 6,951,308, 6,938,830; 6,454,182; 5,297,731; 4,793,142;4,742,958; and 8,403,242, reflecting the inventor's 30 years of researchin this area of technology.

While the proposals have achieved commercial success, practical problemshave limited the use of current state of the art systems to meet therequirements of covering large areas with falling snow in an economicaland capable fashion.

U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0283539A1 and other similarpatents teach the method for creating and maintaining a frozen roadsurface for winter recreational and sporting events and ice tracks forevaluating vehicle performance during cold weather conditions, but thisand other similar uses of snow for this purpose cannot create thefalling snow and variation in snow quality and density that is requiredto simulate the conditions of driving through or being present during asnowfall experience that would occur naturally.

The current state of art for producing falling snow are either foamchemical based falling snow machines that produce a foam like substitutefor snow and small flake ice snow machines that are suspended overheadand drop small amounts of the ice flakes that are produced over a smallarea normally only 1 or 2 square feet for each machine. Neither of thesemachines would be suitable to meet the demands required for falling snowfor a test facility where the snow must fall from heights as high as 100feet and cover areas with a single machine covering 1000 square feet ormore while maintain a real snowflake characteristic all the way to thelanding position on the ground.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

It is the object of this invention is to create a falling snow apparatusand a falling snow system that can make large quantities of falling snowwith a variation of snow flake sizes and output capacities that cancover large areas and can be used in locations where the temperature isplus or minus freezing that at least ameliorates the problems of theprior art methods.

It is a preferred object of the current invention to provide anapparatus that can be connected directly to a water supply and thenturned on to produce falling snow that can be used at test facilitiesfor pilots, motor vehicles, drones and aircraft equipment to improve theperformance of the trainees and equipment in real life conditions,whether it be a light snow fall or a severe snow blizzard conditions.

It is common practice and essential for the future safety that as partof a new vehicle testing, pilot training or aircraft componentdevelopment program that during the winter months, engineers andtechnicians seek out locations that are forecasted to provide therelevant weather conditions to carry out predetermined tests under theseweather conditions to evaluate the performance of the vehicles andcomponents or to train pilots how to operate in these conditions.Finding a suitable location based on the forecast for the ice and snowconditions can be guess-work at best and normally the completion ofthese tests depends almost completely upon the temperament of theenvironment and the completion of these tests can be delayed or aborteddepending on the whim of Mother Nature. It is an object of thisinvention to create a falling snow apparatus that is simple to operateand guaranteed to provide the falling snow conditions necessary tocomplete the testing.

It is a further preferred object to provide an apparatus for makingfalling snow that can be used at all temperatures at ski resorts toenhance the winter experience for visitors and urban locations such astheme parks and events where large congregations of people can enjoy areal falling snow experience even when the temperature is abovefreezing.

Other preferred objects will become apparent from the followingdescription.

In one aspect, the apparatus and system as described in this applicationis a multi-functional snow making system capable of producing highquality falling snow efficiently that can cover large areas and in largequantities and can be used in above and below freezing environments toprovide various volumes and snow flake sizes of falling snow, includingone or more of the following steps:

creating snow in a single apparatus that creates small flakes of ice byutilizing a rotating scraper blade that scrapes ice flakes off arefrigerated drum connected to a water supply to produce ice flakes thatare a size of between 0.5 to 1 mm thickness and up to 12 mm long by 10mm wide;

dropping, vacuuming and/or conveying these small flakes of ice into afan impeller apparatus and making snow by impacting the small flakes ofice with fast turning blades so that the small flakes of ice are reducedto a miniature size similar to a natural snowflake;

blowing the stream of snowflakes skyward with the fan impeller via anoutlet and in a cold air stream created by fresh air being cooled tobelow freezing temperatures as it travels through the ice flakegenerating machines;

adjusting the speed of rotation of the impeller to control the size ofthe snowflakes;

reversing the direction of the rotation of the impeller to control thesize and shape of the snowflakes produced;

positioning a deflector that interacts and collides with the stream ofsnowflakes as they are thrown at high speed from the snow making machineimpeller to control the size and shape of the snowflakes produced;

moving a deflector plate back and forth at quick intervals to controlthe coverage area of the stream of snowflakes;

adjusting the legs of the apparatus to maintain the machine in a levelposition on any form of terrain;

positioning the snow fall apparatus in a pattern to cover large areaswith a full coverage of falling snow;

connecting multiple ice flake generating machines together for use withone or more snow impeller units.

Preferably, the rotating scraper blades of the ice flake generatingmachines are adjustable and can be rotated in a range of 1 to 40 RPM perminute, more preferably at about 20 RPM to create ice flakes with athickness of 0.5 mm;

Preferably, the refrigerated drum of the ice flake generating machinesis level and the surface of the drum where ice is formed is cooled byrefrigeration to or below 0 degrees Fahrenheit (−17.78 degrees Celsius).

Preferably, the ice flakes produced in the ice flake generating machineswill fall by gravity into the impeller and the incoming air streamproduced by the spinning blades of the impeller will be cooled bytravelling through each, refrigerated drum of the ice flake generatingmachines.

Preferably, the, or each, blade of the fan impeller impacts the iceflakes formed with a (preferably tangential) Velocity component in therange 150-600 Km/h (93-374 MPH); more preferably 180 260 Km/h (112-161MPH); most preferably 200-220 Km/h (124-137 MPH).

Preferably, air passes through the refrigerated drum of the ice flakegenerating machines and is introduced into the fan impeller housing atcold temperatures to minimize any melt of the snowflakes as they areproduced and to be discharged through at least one outlet with thestream of snowflakes.

Preferably, the, inlet and outlet for the snow making chamber isseparated by at least 90 degrees; more preferably 270 degrees; in thestandard direction of the rotation of the fan impeller so that theimpacted snowflakes are subjected to no more than one rotation beforebeing discharged from the outlet.

Preferably, the rotation of the fan impeller can be reversed to allowfor the snowflakes to remain in the fan impeller housing for a longerperiod with at least 2 complete rotations to create smaller snowflakesbefore being discharged from the fan impeller outlet.

Preferably, the stream of snowflakes collides with a deflector plate ata high impact force as it is discharged from the fan impeller outlet tofurther reduce the size of the stream of snowflakes produced.

Preferably, the deflector plate is controlled by a retracting mechanismand is curved in shape to allow for the stream of snowflakes produced tobe distributed over a larger area.

Preferably, the deflector plate can return to a neutral position whennot required to allow for a straight plume of snowflakes to bedischarged from the fan impeller outlet that do not impact with thedeflector plate.

Preferably, the deflector plate can swivel around a circular outlet pipeto create a full 360 degrees of snow fall coverage.

The stream of snowflakes can be produced to cover large areas with asingle machine up to 200 feet in diameter and 150 feet high; Preferably,the stream of snowflakes is blown into the air 80 feet above theposition of the machine to cover an area of up to 25 feet (8 metres)wide by 66 feet (20 metres) long when the retracting deflector plate isused; which can be increased to cover an area 130 feet (40 metres) indiameter when used in conjunction with a rotating device that turns thedeflector plate a full 360 degrees around the outlet pipe.

Preferably, the snow fall apparatus is controlled by a programmablelogic controller that can be programmed to independently change thestatus of the deflector plate, fan impeller speed and the ice flakegenerating machines production rate to be able to cater for all snowfall requirements ranging from a light snow fall to a heavy snow fallthat simulates blizzard conditions.

Preferably, the snow fall apparatus can be mounted on wheels for ease ofmovement.

In a second aspect, the present invention resides in a snow fallapparatus, including:

An insulated screw conveyor with an open outlet that is connecteddirectly to the inlet of the fan impeller and is positioned below one ormore of the ice flake generating machines that make the small flakes ofice;

a snow fall apparatus as previously described;

a means of controlling the screw conveyor.

Preferably, the screw conveyor is controlled by a programmable logiccontroller that can be programmed to move the ice flakes that producedaway from the immediate ice flake drop zone area below the drums of theice flake generating machines to a temporary storage position within theinner walls of the screw conveyor.

The screw conveyor can be 10 feet (3 metres) to 66 feet (50 metres)long, preferably 40 feet (12 metres) and can be mounted on wheels forease of movement.

Preferably the screw conveyor can have multiple input ports to beconnected to one or more ice flake generating machines.

Preferably, the outlet of the screw conveyor connects directly to theinlet of the fan impeller assembly.

Preferably, the screw conveyor is shaftless and has an unrestrictedopening at the outlet point;

Preferably, the screw conveyor can be mounted on wheels for ease ofmovement.

Preferably, the screw conveyor can be levelled with adjustable legs forcorrect positioning below or at the side of the ice flake generatingmachines.

In a third aspect, the present invention resides in a snow fallapparatus, including:

a series of water nozzles positioned to spray and mix water in thedirection of the stream of snowflakes produced;

a snow making apparatus as previously described;

Preferably, the water nozzles are standard snow making nozzles used onconventional snow making machines that can produce small droplets ofhigh-pressure water that can adhere, freeze and multiply when ejectedand mixed with the stream of snowflakes at sub-freezing temperatures:

Preferably, the water nozzle manifold is positioned on the deflectorplate of the previously described snow fall apparatus;

Preferably, the water sprayed from the water nozzle manifold can beejected and mixed with the stream of snowflakes at plus freezingtemperatures to produce conditions simulating freezing rain, slush orhail.

In one aspect a method of using an apparatus for making falling snow isdisclosed, including the steps of:

i. lowering a surface temperature of an internal surface of arefrigerated drum of an ice flake generating machine to 0 degreesFahrenheit (−17.78 degrees Celsius) or below, the refrigerated drumconnected to a water supply and a refrigeration means to produce iceflakes on the internal surface;

ii. separating the ice flakes produced on the internal surface byutilizing at least one rotating scraper blade that scrapes the iceflakes off of the internal surface;

iii. controlling the at least one rotating scraper blade by varying itsrotation speed in order to create the ice flakes of various thicknesses;

iv. dropping the ice flakes into a fan impeller, the fan impellercomprising at least an impeller housing and at least one impelleroutlet, impacting the ice flakes with turning blades of the fan impellerso that the ice flakes are reduced in size to form snow crystals;

v. utilizing a cold flow of air which has travelled through therefrigerated drum to reduce air temperature in the impeller housingbefore the fan impeller blows a stream of the snow crystals out throughthe at least one impeller outlet;

vi. adjusting a speed of rotation of the fan impeller to size andcontrol the stream of snow crystals produced; and

vii. reversing the rotation direction of the fan impeller in order tosize, shape, and control the stream of snow crystals produced.

In a further aspect combinable with any of the above aspects, adeflector plate is positioned at the impeller outlet to deflect thestream of the snow crystals as they are thrown at high speed from thefan impeller, controlling size and shape of the stream of snow crystalsproduced.

In a further aspect combinable with any of the above aspects, thedeflector plate moves in a reciprocating motion, deflecting the streamof snow crystals as they are thrown at high speed from the fan impeller,controlling a coverage area of the stream of snow crystals.

In a further aspect combinable with any of the above aspects theapparatus comprises adjustable legs to maintain a level position.

In one aspect a method for using an apparatus for making falling snow,including the steps of:

i. combining a plurality of ice flake generating machines together, eachice flake generating machine comprising at least one refrigerated drum,the at least one refrigerated drum connected to a water supply and arefrigeration means to produce ice flakes on an internal surface;

ii. lowering a surface temperature of the internal surface of the atleast ne refrigerated drum to 0 degrees Fahrenheit (−17.78 degreesCelsius) or below and producing ice flakes on the internal surface;

iii. separating the ice flakes from the internal surface of each drum byutilizing at least one rotating scraper blade that scrapes ice flakesoff of the internal surface of the refrigerated drum,

iv. controlling the at least one rotating scraper blade, varying itsrotation speed in order to create the ice flakes of various thicknesses;

v. dropping the ice flakes into a screw conveyor to store the iceflakes;

vi. moving the ice flakes by operation of the screw conveyor to astorage point within the screw conveyor;

vii. connecting an outlet of the screw conveyor to an inlet of a fanimpeller in a straight-line configuration, the fan impeller comprisingat least an impeller housing and at least one impeller outlet;

viii. operating the screw conveyor and the fan impeller, making snowcrystals of various sizes by forcing the ice flakes from the screwconveyor and/or storage point into the fan impeller and impacting theice flakes with turning blades of the fan impeller so that the iceflakes are reduced in size to form snow crystals.

In a further aspect combinable with any of the above aspects, a coldflow of air which has travelled through the at least one refrigerateddrum is utilized to reduce air temperature in the impeller housingbefore the fan impeller blows a stream of snow crystals out through theat least one impeller outlet.

In a further aspect combinable with any of the above aspects, a speed ofrotation of the fan impeller is adjusted to size and control the streamof snow crystals produced.

In a further aspect combinable with any of the above aspects, a rotationof the fan impeller is reversed in order to size, shape, and control thestream of snow crystals produced.

In a further aspect combinable with any of the above aspects, a speed ofthe screw conveyor is adjusted to control volume of the snow crystalsproduced by controlling the intake of the ice flakes into the fanimpeller.

In a further aspect combinable with any of the above aspects, adeflector plate is positioned at the impeller outlet to deflect thestream of the snow crystals as they are thrown at high speed from thefan impeller, controlling size and shape of the stream of snow crystalsproduced.

In a further aspect combinable with any of the above aspects, thedeflector plate moves in a reciprocating motion, deflecting the streamof snow crystals as they are thrown at high speed from the fan impeller,controlling coverage area of the stream of snow crystals produced.

In a further aspect combinable with any of the above aspects, adeflector plate can swivel around a circular outlet pipe to create afull 360 degrees of snow fall coverage.

In a further aspect combinable with any of the above aspects, theapparatus comprises adjustable legs to maintain a level position.

In a further aspect combinable with any of the above aspects, theapparatus is controlled by a programmable logic controller (PLC) thatcan be programmed to replicate different snow fall requirementsincluding light snow fall to blizzard conditions.

In a further aspect combinable with any of the above aspects, the screwconveyor comprises multiple input connectors above and/or beside thescrew conveyor to connect to additional ice flake generating machines.

In a further aspect combinable with any of the above aspects, a seriesof water nozzles are positioned to spray and mix water into the streamof snow crystals produced to form freezing rain, slush or hail.

In a further aspect combinable with any of the above aspects, theapparatus is controlled by a programmable logic controller (PLC) thatcan be programmed to replicate different snow fall and rain requirementsincluding light drizzle, rain, hail, slush, snow falls and/or blizzardconditions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

To enable the invention to be fully understood, and to enable a skilledaddressee to put the invention into practice, several preferredembodiments will now be described, with reference to the accompanyingillustrations, which are described in the following detaileddescriptions:

FIG. 1 shows a mobile single snow fall apparatus showing the ice flakegenerating machines, fan impeller and water supply;

FIG. 2 is an illustration of the use of the snow fall apparatus inpractice;

FIG. 3 is an illustration showing multiple snow fall apparatus singleunits positioned together and utilized in a testing field to cover alarge area with a snow fall;

FIG. 4 shows multiple ice flake generating machines positioned above ascrew conveyor to supply a single fan impeller;

FIG. 5 is an overhead view of FIG. 4 being multiple ice flake generatingmachines positioned above a screw conveyor to supply a single fanimpeller and showing the screw conveyor and fan impeller connection;

FIG. 6 shows the connection of the screw conveyor to the fan impeller;

FIG. 7 shows the outlet of the screw conveyor and details how the iceflakes are directed to impact on an impeller blade as the screw conveyorturns and feeds the inlet of the fan impeller;

FIG. 8 shows the standard fan impeller mechanism and the retractabledeflector mechanism;

FIG. 9 shows the impact of reversing the rotation of the fan impellerand the effect this has on the ice flakes and the stream of snowflakesproduced from the ice flakes while in the impeller fan housing for theadditional time;

FIG. 10 shows the impact of the reversing mechanism on the ice flakeswhile in the impeller fan housing;

FIG. 11 shows multiple ice flake generating machines positioned above ascrew conveyor to supply a single fan impeller feeding ice to one fanimpeller system;

FIG. 12 is an illustration showing multiple ice flake generatingmachines positioned above a screw conveyor that supplies ice flakes to asingle fan impeller that are converted to create a stream of snowflakes;and

FIG. 13 shows the snow fall apparatus with a water manifold connected soas to create freezing rain, slush, hail and for sub-freezing snowmaking.

FIG. 1 shows the snow fall apparatus 1 and the components that make upthe snow fall apparatus. The water required for making snowflakes isconnected to the inlet pipe 2 and supplied to a water tank 3 that iscontrolled by a float valve 4. A refrigeration condensing unit 5maintains the walls of a circular drum of a drum evaporator freezer 6 ata temperature of around 0 degrees Fahrenheit (−17.78 degrees Celsius).

Water from the tank 3 is pumped to the top of the ice flake generatingmachine into an open channel and the water spills over and flows evenlydown the inner walls of the drum evaporator freezer 6 and the water isfrozen as it flows down the walls and converted to ice. A variable speedgeared motor 7 rotates the scraper blade assembly 8 and the ice that isformed is scraped off the wall and converted into small ice flakes 15that fall by gravity in a downward direction into a collection hopper 10that feeds a fan impeller 9.

The fan impeller 9 assembly is connected to a motor 12 that can have apulley and belts 11 that rotate the fan impeller unit at various speeds.All electrical equipment is connected to a control panel 13 fitted withvariable speed drives to control the rotation of the spinning motor 7.The fan impeller 9 creates an airflow and impacts with the ice flakes 15as the fan impeller motor 12 spins to produce the stream of snowflakesthat produce the snow fall 16.

The adjustable deflector plate 17 is controlled by the control panel 13and is connected to the fan impeller assembly 9. All components of snowfall apparatus 1 preferably are housed in a stainless-steel enclosureand frame 18 and the unit is fitted with wheels 19 and levelling guides20 on each corner.

FIG. 2 illustrates the use of the snow fall apparatus 21 when being usedto blow the stream of snowflakes into the sky 22 and falling to theground 23 while covering a large area for the purpose of testing motorvehicles 525 in falling snow conditions on a vehicle test tracks 424 andalso shows the snow fall apparatus 21 being used to test sensors andcomponents of airborne vehicles such as drones 26 and also shows how thesnow fall apparatus 21 being used to create a large stream of snowflakesto cover an area above a large gatherings of people 27.

FIG. 3 illustrates a flight path, roadway or walkway 33 created withmultiple snow fall apparatus 31 positioned on the ground or on platforms32 to create a fully functional snow fall area where the total area willexperience the snow falling from above.

FIG. 4 illustrates multiple ice flake generating machines 41 combined toform a single snow fall apparatus with a screw conveyor 45 and fanimpeller interconnected with the ice flake generating machines to createa standalone snow fall apparatus 1 that produces a large stream ofsnowflakes over a large area. Referring now to the drawing and how thesystem would operate, the ice flake generating machines 41 create smallflakes of ice on a refrigerated drum and control the cutter blades ofthe scraper blade assembly that scrape the ice off the surface of thedrum. The ice flake generating machines 41 are fitted with speedcontrollable scraper blade assembly motors to produce small flakes ofice 53 that fall by gravity into a suitably sized screw conveyor 45 withan inlet opening positioned to capture the small flakes of ice 53 asthey fall by gravity. A programmable logic controller is positioned inthe control panel 49 and controls the screw conveyor motor 47 and willautomatically start the screw conveyor when the area 44 below the iceflake generating machines 41 has filled and will then move the buildupof the small flakes of ice 53 to a position in the direction of the fanimpeller 42 to free up the inlet opening space in the screw conveyor 45below the flake ice generators 41.

In this way, the screw conveyor 45 works as a storage area for smallflakes of ice 53 when batch production of the small flakes of ice 53 isrequired to store the small flakes of ice 53 before feeding them to thefan impeller blades 43 to make a stream of snowflakes that are blowninto the air at set times and for a set duration. The programmable logiccontroller controls the storage and transfer of the small flakes of ice53 within the screw conveyor until the storage is full. When the streamof snowflakes 52 are ready to be blown skywards, the programmable logiccontroller controls the direction of rotation and the speed of the fanimpeller motor 48, the operation of the deflector plate motor 51 andcontrols the speed of rotation of the screw conveyor motor 47 to controlthe height and area coverage of the stream of snowflakes for a set timeuntil the snowflakes are exhausted, after which time the process isrepeated. The screw conveyor 45 is connected directly to the inlet ofthe fan impeller 42 and the ice flakes are pushed directly into theblades of the fan impeller blades 43.

Using this method of operation there is no limit to the amount offalling snow to be produced as one fan impeller and screw conveyorcombination can handle an unlimited number of ice flake generatingmachines. Using various combinations of ice flake generating machines itis possible to produce a stream of snowflakes from 220 pounds (100kilograms) to 52,800 pounds (24,000 kilograms) per hour using a singlescrew conveyor and impeller fan apparatus.

FIG. 5 shows the view of FIG. 4 from above the ice flake generatingmachines 41 and shows the direct connection of the screw conveyor 45 andthe fan impeller 42.

FIG. 6 shows a quick connect circular-shaped tube connector 59 at theinlet of the fan impeller 57 and fasteners, such as the threaded bolts58 that are used for securing to the tube connector 60 positioned on thescrew conveyor 62. The screw conveyor 62 has a circular shaped tubeconnector 60 at the outlet that fits inside the fan impeller connector59. The two connectors are pushed together and secured by screwing thefastening bolts 58 into the threaded screw holes 61 which allows thesmall flakes of ice 64 to be conveyed by the screw blades 63 directlyinto the inlet of the fan impeller 57.

FIG. 7 shows the outlet of the screw conveyor 2 and clear path 65 thatallows the direct flow of the small flakes of ice to the screw conveyoroutlet. The threaded screw holes 61 are positioned in the tube connector60 to secure the screw conveyor 62 to the fan impeller 57.

FIG. 8 shows the fan impeller apparatus 73 that is manufactured fromstainless steel or other high impact metal whereby small flakes of iceare introduced though the inlet opening 75. The fan impeller shaft 74 isrotatably journaled in the apparatus 73 and is driven at a highrotational speed with the speed controlled by a programmable logiccontroller to create the desired snow throw distance. The fan impellershaft 74 is operated by suitable mechanical drive means 72 (e.g. anelectric motor & transmission). The fan impeller shaft 74 spins thehigh-impact impeller blades 76, 77 of the rotating tubular fan impellerapparatus 73 to miniaturize the small flakes of ice and blow the streamof snowflakes produced at high velocity through the outlet pipe 71.

A retractable deflector plate 78 is positioned at end of the outlet pipe71 and consists of a permanent base plate 82 that is connected by ahinge 83 to an upper deflector plate 85. The deflector plate 85 isrotated or retracted backwards and forwards on the hinge 83 and iscontrolled by the motor 80 connected to the eccentric circular part 81.Rod 79 connects at position 84 permanently to the retracting deflectorplate 85 and connects, preferably, to the outside hole of the eccentriccircular plate 81 to create a forward and backward retraction equal tothe diameter of the circular plate providing one full forward andbackward retraction for each revolution of the motor with the forwardposition referenced as 86 and arrows 87 indicating direction ofmovement. A programmable logic controller controls the speed of themotor 80 and is normally set to 0.5 to 2 revolutions per second. Thescrew conveyor 88 connects via the outlet connection 93 directly to thefan impeller inlet opening 75 to form one straight path. The screwconveyor shaft 90 turns the screw blades 89 and the small flakes of icecan be pushed directly into the opening of the fan impeller 75.

FIG. 9 shows the limited time the small flakes of ice are within the fanimpeller housing 95 when rotated counterclockwise 94 which creates onecollision of the blades before the stream of snowflakes are dischargedthrough the fan impeller outlet 96.

FIG. 10 shows the extended time and additional rotations of the smallflakes of ice within the fan impeller housing 98 when rotated clockwise97 and the additional contact with the fan impeller blades created bythis reversing of the rotation until the stream of snowflakes producedare thrown by centrifugal force and fan air pressure through the fanimpeller outlet 99. This reverse operation is important in cold orsubzero conditions where a super fine stream of snowflakes is required.The rotational direction of the fan impeller motor is controlled by aprogrammable logic controller and this operation for producing superfine stream of snowflakes is programmed into the software for thesystem.

FIG. 11 illustrates additional outlets on a single screw conveyor fanimpeller combination apparatus 103 to allow the connection of additionalmodules of ice flake generating machines 101. The ice flake generatingmachines are connected to the main screw conveyor at flange connection104 which provides an inlet at the side of the main screw conveyor/fanimpeller apparatus to push the small flakes of ice at an angle into thepath and direction of the main screw conveyor which then pushes thesmall flakes of ice from all ice generating machines 101 into the fanimpeller 103. Additional inlet openings can be added at the top of themain screw conveyor/impeller fan assembly 103 as a means of manuallyadding ice flakes into the screw conveyor 102 through secure opening105. The opening 105 provides a usable feature in the event of a systembreakdown or for adding other testing mediums such as fog or dust whichcould be added at this point.

FIG. 12 illustrates two packaged modules of ice flake generatingmachines 106 and 109 connected to the screw conveyor 108 that feeds thesnowfall impeller 107.

FIG. 13 illustrates snow fall apparatus 110 and the components that makeup the snow fall apparatus 110. Water from the water tank 111 is fed tothe refrigerated drum freezer walls 114 through piping 112. As the waterspills over and, preferably flows evenly, down the inner walls 114 ofthe drum freezer, the water is frozen and converted to ice. The gearedmotor 113 rotates the scraper blade assembly 115 and the ice that isformed is scraped off the wall into small flakes of ice that fall bygravity in a downward direction into the collection hopper 116. Theimpeller fan assembly 117 is connected to a motor 118 that drives thefan impeller unit 117 at various speeds, all electrical equipment isconnected to a control panel with a programmable logic controller tocontrol the rotation direction and speed of the motor 118. As the fanimpeller 117 spins, it produces a stream of snowflakes that are expelledfrom the fan impeller outlet 121 into the path of the adjustabledeflector plate 119 that fall from the sky as falling snow 120.

As the stream of snowflakes are blown from the snow fall apparatus 117,they collide with the snow deflector plate 119 that has a raised centerline and the snow-like particles are further miniaturized and thrownupwardly at a very high speed. For conventional snow making atsub-freezing temperatures and to be able to create additional quantitiesof falling snow 126 or to create rain, frozen rain, hail or slush fortest facilities, a water spray apparatus is connected to the snow falloutlet piping. The water nozzles 125 are positioned on a heated manifold124 and spray in the same direction as the exiting stream of snowflakesand are connected to a water hose or pipe 122 by connection fitting 123.The snow deflector plate 119, the nozzles 125 and the water manifolds124 are preferably heated to prevent freezing during operation.

Before describing specific embodiments of the present invention, thefollowing explanatory comments should be noted.

The snow fall apparatus (i.e. method and apparatus) of the presentinvention, uses water only for snow making and can be used at anytemperature.

The techniques used to create a continuous snow fall over a large areaat a great height and control the size of the snow crystals and hencethe ability to maintain them in a frozen state has been gained throughmany years of working with our patented fan impeller system andpracticing the techniques to meet the ever-growing demand for snowmaking solutions.

The growth in airborne delivery vehicles such as drones and the testingrequired for the pilots and the vehicles themselves has made the demandfor large scale falling snow machines greater than ever before.

With the advent of online shopping and the use of drones for delivery ofgoods purchased online, the need for a system for testing these dronesand training the pilots in all weather conditions will be a necessity inthe future.

Specialized equipment such as cameras and sensors to be placed on thesedrones and other form of aircraft will need to be tested before use inthe field and pilots who drive the drones will need also have the skillto be able to maneuver them in all weather conditions in particularthose conditions frequently found in cold winter locations such asblizzards, snow flurries and frozen rain. While there are testingfacilities available for drone and aircraft sensor testing, to the bestof our knowledge there are no such test facilities available thatprovide the ability to test in all forms of falling snow situations.

In another field there have been patents lodged for creating frozenroads for testing all forms of motor vehicles and drivers in intrepidweather conditions, to the best of our knowledge there has been nosystem developed to create the blizzards, frozen rain, hail or snowfalls or snow flurries essential for vehicle engineers to test newvehicles to be certified for safety.

A purpose-built falling snow machine has never been availablecommercially to allow for full saturation of a large area withcontrolled and varied snow falls. The snowfall created can be a heavyblizzard, snow flurries, any snow fall programmed to drop at a certaindepth of snow per hour period, wet snow, freezing rain, slush and evenhail. It would seem obvious that if such commercial equipment existedthen all motor vehicles and all drivers of commercial vehicles such asbuses and trucks should be tested and trained in these extremeconditions that they would encounter in their line of work.

Not only the testing of the cars but the training of the drones andtheir pilots is also essential for the safety of goods being deliveredin adverse weather conditions.

Theme parks and large amusement centers entertain their customers in avariety of ways and in some locations have large fountains of waterwhere people can watch and see and be entertained by viewing these largeplumes of water as they reach up to the sky. A falling snow experiencethat can be turned on with a flick of a switch can in the same wayentertain large crowds of people where they cannot only view but canalso experience the naturally occurring phenonium of snow fall which isnormally only available to experience in Alpine conditions.

To the best of our knowledge there are no large-scale falling snowmachines that make natural falling snow from water to cover large areas.There are products that make falling snow by mixing water with asurfactant to create a foam snow. The foam snow does not have the samecharacteristics of real snow and the use of it for testing or trainingdrivers would not be suitable as the product does not react in a similarmanner to frozen water snow. Another disadvantage is the environmentalimpact of having the foam flow into drains, rivers and streams.

Small falling snow machines have been created that drop ice flakes overa very small area these machines are normally located in the ceiling orroof of a room and the flakes drop about 8 feet (2 metres) down andcover a very small footprint. While these machines serve a noveltypurpose, their use would not be suitable and impossible to meet therequirements to perform drone and other vehicle testing, which require asnow fall area of at least of 80-foot-high by 300-foot-long and 100 footwide. These dimensions have been established by aircraft engineers inthe industry. The 2.4 million cubic feet volume of continuous fallingsnow coverage can only be met by machines designed and developed to meetsuch a target range. The invention with a cluster of machines totaling24 with 12 positioned either side of the test area can meet thisrequirement.

The invention is the first commercial system that has been designed tomeet to meet these needs. The successful pursuit of this target has beenbased on 40 years' experience in the field, previous experience in useof the patented impeller system used commercially now in various formsof snow making and in particular research and advancements in thepropelling the snow to increased heights while retaining the snowflakesin a frozen form until they drop to the ground.

When machines are grouped together, for example at a distance 25 feetapart and 100 feet across from each other, an indefinite length offalling snow coverage can be created to cover the width of a footballfield and also an indefinite length to create the snow fall testfacility of the future.

To understand the invention and the positive results achieved then onemust understand the relationship between the size of the snowflakeexpelled from the apparatus and the existing ambient temperatureconditions to ensure the snow does not melt before landing on theground. The distance a snowflake must travel can be as high as 100 feetwhich means that it must travel a total of 160 feet from the output ofour falling snow apparatus until it reaches the ground in a frozenstate. During this journey the snowflake will encounter elements thatwill melt the snowflake such as high humidity, air temperatures abovefreezing, wind and sunshine. All these elements act in this short periodof flight to melt the stream of snowflakes. So, while a very smallsnowflake can be blown in sub-freezing temperatures and not melt, thesame snowflake would quickly turn to water if created and blown in abovefreezing conditions. The apparatus and software are programmed togenerate the required size of the snowflake for use at warmer conditionsand this is achieved by controlling the speed and direction of rotationof 4 or more motors that operate the flake ice generating machines, thescrew conveyor, the fan impeller and deflector plate. By controllingthese parts of the snow fall apparatus it is possible to create athicker and larger stream of snowflakes which will survive hotterconditions and allow the stream of snowflakes to remain frozen untilthey fall to the ground.

We have tested the falling snow apparatus at temperatures up to 90degrees Fahrenheit blowing the snow 100 feet into the air and achievedthe positive results of having streams of snowflakes remain frozen untilthey hit the ground. This was achieved by producing a larger snowflakein the stream that will be melted in part only and still have enoughbody left so that 60 to 80% of the snowflake falls in a frozen stream.To achieve this for all temperatures, we have created a database tounderstand the melt rates that we should experience when the snow isblown at certain densities, heights and weather conditions. From thisdata we can generate the correct size snow crystal needed to meet thedemand.

The snow making apparatus is operated by a programmable logic controllerwhich controls the operation so that one can create various averagethickness and dimensions of the snowflakes produced to ensure that themajority of snowflakes will fall to the ground in a frozen state.

The snow system of the present invention is based on the creation ofsnow using the patented impeller system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.8,403,242 (Bucceri); where snow is created from ice by using a highspeed rotor, with special cutting blades, that smashes the ice into afluffy snow product, that is long lasting and is easily laid on a skifield by the inbuilt blower that is also used with the cutting blades tomake the snow and U.S. Pat. No. 9,909,796 (Bucceri) where the fanimpeller create and vacuums snow-like particles that are created andblown into the air; a high pressure mist of water is added to the streamof snow that is thrown skyward; and the snow acts as a nucleatingsource, that will freeze the water droplets that have been introduced;to create large quantities of falling snow, that can be used for skifields or other recreational applications.

The vertical throw snow throw from the invention at a rotation of 4000RPM can achieve 100 feet (30 metres) and one small unit could cover anarea of 1500 square feet (150 square metres) using the full 360 swivelturning position. (The height and area of coverage would be greater athigher fan impeller speeds). This is a big advantage when permanent snowmaking units are required for snow coverage for a ski resort or skicenter applications where individual machines can be positioned every 60feet (20 metres) up the side of a ski slope.

The skilled addressee will appreciate that ancillary equipment has notbe illustrated in all drawings, such ancillary equipment may includerefrigeration equipment; water-storage and/or pumping equipment;electricity generating, or the like. Such equipment does not form partof the present invention.

For the avoidance of doubt, the apparatus and devices of the presentinvention encompass all possible combinations of the components,including various ranges of said components, disclosed herein. It isfurther noted that the term ‘comprising’ does not exclude the presenceof other elements. However, it is also to be understood that adescription of an apparatus comprising certain components also disclosesa product consisting of these components. Similarly, it is also to beunderstood that a description on a process comprising certain steps alsodiscloses a process consisting of these steps.

In accordance with the patent statutes, the best mode and preferredembodiment have been set forth; the scope of the invention is notlimited thereto, but rather by the scope of the attached claims.

What is claimed:
 1. A method of using an apparatus for making falling snow, including the steps of: i. lowering a surface temperature of an internal surface of a refrigerated drum of an ice flake generating machine to 0 degrees Fahrenheit (−17.78 degrees Celsius) or below, the refrigerated drum connected to a water supply and a refrigeration means to produce ice flakes on the internal surface; ii. separating the ice flakes produced on the internal surface by utilizing at least one rotating scraper blade that scrapes the ice flakes off of the internal surface; iii. controlling the at least one rotating scraper blade by varying its rotation speed in order to create the ice flakes of various thicknesses; iv. dropping the ice flakes into a fan impeller, the fan impeller comprising at least an impeller housing and at least one impeller outlet, impacting the ice flakes with turning blades of the fan impeller so that the ice flakes are reduced in size to form snow crystals; v. utilizing a cold flow of air which has travelled through the refrigerated drum to reduce air temperature in the impeller housing before the fan impeller blows a stream of the snow crystals out through the at least one impeller outlet; vi. adjusting a speed of rotation of the fan impeller to size and control the stream of snow crystals produced; and vii. reversing the rotation direction of the fan impeller in order to size, shape, and control the stream of snow crystals produced.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein: a deflector plate is positioned at the at least one impeller outlet to deflect the stream of the snow crystals as they are thrown at high speed from the fan impeller, controlling size and shape of the stream of snow crystals produced.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein: the deflector plate moves in a reciprocating motion, deflecting the stream of snow crystals as they are thrown at high speed from the fan impeller, controlling a coverage area of the stream of snow crystals.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein: the apparatus comprises adjustable legs to maintain a level position.
 5. A method for using an apparatus for making falling snow, including the steps of: i. combining a plurality of ice flake generating machines together, each ice flake generating machine comprising at least one refrigerated drum, the at least one refrigerated drum connected to a water supply and a refrigeration means to produce ice flakes on an internal surface; ii. lowering a surface temperature of the internal surface of the at least one refrigerated drum to 0 degrees Fahrenheit (−17.78 degrees Celsius) or below and producing ice flakes on the internal surface; iii. separating the ice flakes from the internal surface of each drum by utilizing at least one rotating scraper blade that scrapes ice flakes off of the internal surface of the refrigerated drum; iv. controlling the at least one rotating scraper blade, varying its rotation speed in order to create the ice flakes of various thicknesses; v. dropping the ice flakes into a screw conveyor to store the ice flakes; vi. moving the ice flakes by operation of the screw conveyor to a storage point within the screw conveyor; vii. connecting an outlet of the screw conveyor to an inlet of a fan impeller in straight-line configuration, the fan impeller comprising at least an impeller housing and at least one impeller outlet; viii. operating the screw conveyor and the fan impeller, making snow crystals of various sizes by forcing the ice flakes from the screw conveyor and/or storage point into the fan impeller and impacting the ice flakes with turning blades of the fan impeller so that the ice flakes are reduced in size to form snow crystals.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein: a cold flow of air which has travelled through the at least one refrigerated drum is utilized to reduce air temperature in the impeller housing before the fan impeller blows a stream of snow crystals out through the at least one impeller outlet.
 7. The method of claim 5, wherein: a speed of rotation of the fan impeller is adjusted to size and control the stream of snow crystals produced.
 8. The method of claim 5, wherein: a rotation of the fan impeller is reversed in order to size, shape, and control the stream of snow crystals produced.
 9. The method of claim 5, wherein: a speed of the screw conveyor is adjusted to control volume of the snow crystals produced by controlling the intake of the ice flakes into the fan impeller.
 10. The method of claim 5, wherein: a deflector plate is positioned at the at least one impeller outlet to deflect the stream of the snow crystals as they are thrown at high speed from the fan impeller, controlling size and shape of the stream of snow crystals produced.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein: the deflector plate moves in a reciprocating motion, deflecting the stream of snow crystals as they are thrown at high speed from the fan impeller, controlling coverage area of the stream of snow crystals produced.
 12. The method of claim 10, wherein: the deflector plate can swivel around a circular outlet pipe to create a full 360 degrees of snow fall coverage.
 13. The method of claim 5, wherein: the apparatus comprises adjustable legs to maintain a level position.
 14. The method of claim 5, wherein: the apparatus is controlled by a programmable logic controller (PLC) that can be programmed to replicate different snow fall requirements including light snow fall to blizzard conditions.
 15. The method of claim 5, wherein: the screw conveyor comprises multiple input connectors above and/or beside the screw conveyor to connect to additional ice flake generating machines.
 16. The method of claim 5, wherein: a series of water nozzles are positioned to spray and mix water into the stream of snow crystals produced to form freezing rain, slush or hail.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein: the apparatus is controlled by a programmable logic controller (PLC) that can be programmed to replicate different snow fall and rain requirements including light drizzle, rain, hail, slush, snow falls and/or blizzard conditions.
 18. The method of claim 5, wherein: an inlet opening is present at a top of the screw conveyor.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein: the inlet opening is present at a location between the ice flake generating machines and the inlet of the fan impeller.
 20. The method of claim 5, further including: the step of manually adding one or more of ice flake, fog and dust to an inlet opening present at a top of the screw conveyor.
 21. The method of claim 20, wherein: the inlet opening is present at a location between the ice flake generating machines and the inlet of the fan impeller. 